G

I have no recollection of shooting this photo. I just happened upon it while clearing through everything I shot this spring in preparation for archiving it all. I suspect I found my hair to have achieved a new level of excellence, prompting me to grab the’ol clicker. I suspect this was mid-blink, though it’s possible I was actually trying to achieve this look. Doubtful.

So on top of that, I have laid a big’ol G. First I had a G and H. Then the full “Gustav Hoiland.” Then I went big and dropped this on it. I’ve been perusing some fashion blogs and magazines as of late and have been duly impressed by the combination of type over photos. It screams COMMERCIAL, and by god, I love it. So this was my second go at it, after failing to make the letters NU look any good with a photo of a Northeastern University cyclist.

Yes, I’ll need more practice. Much more. But for now, I actually kind of like this. Part of it is the strangeness of the eyes, combined with the slight drop of the chin. Is it moving in the direction of the dozy seductive? Is it simply the reflex of the neck when I hold my camera at arms length, combined with the half blink? Boy, I’m not making a very strong case for my artistic vision here.

G-wise, it’s actually a purple G with a drop shadow and a thin cyan border, all on perhaps a darken blend mode and a lowered opacity. I came upon this combination entirely through experimentation – finding the right G, finding the right color, messing around with different effects, positions, etc…

In closing, tear your eyes from the front and notice the tiled background on the left, compared to the plain on the right. The long hair that I won’t have again for another many months. The chin stubble. Errrr, that’s about it.